Lin Mo's words left the room in stunned silence for a full three seconds.
Not a sound could be heard.
All eyes turned to the man standing in the center, dressed in an ordinary black suit and wearing a face mask.
No one could reconcile this image with the aloof, rigid, and stern Huo Tingshen they knew.
And hadn’t he just introduced himself as a waiter?
Even his voice sounded completely different from Huo Tingshen’s usual tone—it was oddly youthful, almost playful.
Besides, wasn’t Huo Tingshen supposed to be wearing that flashy red suit?
But upon closer inspection, this waiter did stand out from the others.
The other waiters were all dressed in deep V-neck suits with no undershirts, their well-built physiques on full display.
This one, however, wore a formal suit with a button-up shirt underneath, the top button fastened all the way up as if afraid someone might catch a glimpse of something.
The more people stared, the wider their eyes grew.
Oh my god, my ancestors, my clothes, my soul—could this really be Huo Tingshen?
Zhao Ziling’s gaze, filled with shock that could span millennia, landed squarely on Huo Tingshen.
She hadn’t paid any attention to a mere waiter earlier, so she hadn’t recognized him.
First, he disguised himself as a male escort at a karaoke bar, and now he was pretending to be a waiter at a yacht party.
There was only one explanation: the Huo family’s ancestral graves must be cursed!
"Someone, get me a handful of glutinous rice!"
Huo Tingshen: "..."
At this moment, Huo Tingshen experienced true social annihilation, his entire body stiff with mortification.
He had broken his own rules today by wearing that red suit.
Originally, he just wanted to have a proper conversation with Zhao Ziling.
His looks weren’t bad, and the red suit made him quite the sight.
Surely Zhao Ziling would be willing to talk to him then.
But he hadn’t expected the event to have rules—rules of the worst possible kind.
Yet what he couldn’t stand even more was the thought of other men hovering around Zhao Ziling.
So, he had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.
He paid off the male escort waiters to keep their distance from Zhao Ziling, leaving only himself nearby.
Everyone was here to have fun; no one would pay attention to a mere waiter.
But then there was a game.
And in a moment of impulsiveness, he hadn’t refused Zhao Ziling’s invitation.
Or perhaps he simply couldn’t bring himself to.
He had missed her terribly these past few days.
Yet, against all odds, that brat Lin Mo had recognized him at a glance!
Couldn’t she have spared him some dignity?!
A vein throbbed violently at Huo Tingshen’s temple.
Dozens of people were present, all influential figures in Beijing’s elite circles.
And with the event being livestreamed, there were likely hundreds of thousands of viewers.
His reputation was utterly ruined!
If only this were all just a nightmare!
—"No way! Holy heavens! Is this really the same Huo Tingshen who’s domineering even when taking a dump?"
—"He clearly still has feelings for his ex-wife. I heard all the waiters at this party are male escorts. Looks like the CEO has turned to escorting for love!"
—"Not just escorting—he’s putting on a fake voice too!"
—"Huo Tingshen: Xie Guanyan humiliated himself for love by playing the fish! I’m proud to play the duck!"
The incident quickly trended on social media.
#HuoGroupCEOBecomesEscortForLove#
#HuoTingshenInterviewWithBeijingDaily#
Back at the event, the piercing stares felt like needles stabbing into Huo Tingshen, making his head spin with humiliation.
Taking off the mask would mean admitting he’d lied earlier.
Keeping it on would just be delusional.
Just then, the woman in the red dress flung a handful of glutinous rice straight at his face.
Huo Tingshen’s last shred of composure shattered. He turned to Xie Guanyan and growled, "I never should’ve made that bet with you!"
Xie Guanyan: "..."
Xie Guanyan understood—Huo Tingshen was truly out of options.
Since they were all part of Beijing’s elite circle where harmony was prized, he didn’t call out the divorced man’s bluff.
He simply smiled without a word.
—"Xie Guanyan is too classy!"
—"If the sky falls, Huo Tingshen’s stubbornness will hold it up."
Everyone could see Huo Tingshen was scrambling to save face.
But given his status, they all played along, pretending to buy his excuse.
Lin Mo rubbed her chin. "Ah, so it was a lost bet. For a second, I thought Mr. Huo had completely abandoned his dignity."
Huo Tingshen: "..."
The crowd had been holding back before.
Now, they couldn’t anymore.
A chorus of stifled laughter erupted.
—"I have a strong suspicion Lin Mo read Huo Tingshen’s interview and is getting revenge for Xie Guanyan!"
The director didn’t dare open his eyes, praying this was all a hallucination.
He ordered someone to sweep up the rice and nervously continued with the program.
When it was Zhao Ziling’s turn to introduce herself, the stunning woman in the red dress took the microphone with effortless confidence.
"Hello, everyone. I’m Zhao Ziling, a classical dance performer."
—"The Diaochan of our times is truly multi-talented!"
—"She’s another disciple of Xu Yali, the mother of classical dance!"
—"Huo Tingshen really ate well back in the day!"
The microphone then passed to Shen Yihan.
With a blank expression, he said, "I’m Shen Yihan, Lin Mo’s younger brother. Please take good care of my sister."
—"Oh right, he’s known as the ‘Buddha of Beijing’s Elite.’ Wasn’t he linked to Li Huanyu before?"
—"Li Huanyu keeps glancing at him. Seems like she’s interested."
—"No way! The ‘Gu-Li Rivalry’ ship must not sink!"
The others quickly finished their introductions.
The director’s gaze lingered on Huo Tingshen.
Huo Tingshen, stubbornly keeping his mask on, shot him a confused look in return.
Understanding the director’s concern, Zhao Ziling whispered to Huo Tingshen, "You have to follow the game rules, or you shouldn’t be playing."
Since she was already here, she wasn’t about to back out.
Huo Tingshen’s face darkened. "I lost a bet, and I’ll honor it. I’ll play properly!"
Relieved, the director explained the rules.
"In this game, ‘Pass the Love,’ you’ll pass an object from the front to the back of the line. The first person will receive the item from me, and each subsequent person must pass it using any body part except their hands."
"No more than two people can use the same method. If anyone fails to pass it correctly, they’ll face a punishment before the game continues."
"Since you’ll be standing in a line, positioning matters. You have one minute to arrange yourselves."
—"The front and back positions obviously allow for physical contact! The real battle begins now!"
Lin Mo naturally wanted to stand next to Xie Guanyan.
Xie Guanyan was trying to reach her too, but Shen Sizhan and Shen Yihan blocked the way.
Gu Jingchuan also wanted to stand near Lin Mo.
He barely took a step forward before Shen Sizhan shoulder-checked him away.
Xu Yan tried next—same result.
—"Damn, Shen Sizhan is a whole menace!"
Xie Guanyan approached, only to be shoved back by Shen Sizhan.
But Xie Guanyan persisted, returning again and again.
Shen Sizhan shoved him each time.
The two were locked in an absurd stalemate.
—"Are you two doing some kind of interpretive dance?"
Lin Mo massaged her temples and stepped between them.
Shen Sizhan’s face soured instantly.
Seizing the opportunity, the "Buddha of Beijing’s Elite" slipped into the gap between Lin Mo and Xie Guanyan.
Lin Mo: "..."
She glared at him. "Move."
Obedient as ever, Shen Yihan twirled away without protest.
Huo Tingshen stayed close behind Zhao Ziling.
If any man dared stand in front of her, he fixed them with a death stare.
Even Gu Song couldn’t escape his death glare.
Gu Song was speechless. "President Huo, I’m an old man, and yet you—"
Huo Tingshen’s tone was icy. "You have the worst reputation. Get lost!"
Gu Song: "..."
Gu Jingchuan, who had been knocked over, scrambled up and immediately apologized to Huo Tingshen. "President Huo, my father didn’t mean it."
The situation was clear.
In Jingbei, power was essentially split in two—the only person who could rival Xie Guanyan was Huo Tingshen.
He needed to curry favor with Huo Tingshen.
With Huo Tingshen backing him, why would he fear Xie Guanyan?
It was obvious this man was here for his ex-wife.
"President Huo, I’ll stand in front of your wife and keep my distance from her."
Huo Tingshen shot him a look. "Who the hell are you? Get lost too!"
Gu Jingchuan: "..."
Some of the other socialites had randomly grabbed male models or waiters to stand in front of them.
When the director blew the whistle after one minute,
Zhao Ziling found herself facing a tall male model in a sheer suit.
Huo Tingshen’s veins bulged in anger as he yelled, "Director, I object to this arrangement!"
Zhao Ziling turned her head. "If you don’t want to play, then leave!"
Huo Tingshen gritted his teeth. "Fine, I’ll play!"
—"Hahaha, President Huo really cares about his image, always getting humiliated!"
—"If he’s so possessive now, why did they divorce in the first place?"
—"I heard his wife dumped him."
—"No, gossip says it’s because he’s... ahem... bad in bed."
—"Ohhh! So his wife left him because he couldn’t perform!"
